About Mercy For Animals

Together we can end factory farming.

Inspiring Compassion. Ending Cruelty

Mercy For Animals is dedicated to preventing cruelty to farmed animals and promoting compassionate food choices and policies.

Imagine a world free of cruelty. Where we nurture our bodies, minds and spirits with wholesome, healthy food that is kind to animals and sustainable for our planet. Mercy For Animals believes that world is possible, in fact inevitable, if we work together to elevate humanity to it’s fullest potential.

Our Approach

We are on the frontlines fighting to protect farmed animals. From factory farms to corporate boardrooms, courts of justice to courts of public opinion, Mercy For Animals is there to speak up against cruelty and for compassion.

animals freed from cruel cages annually thanks to new laws promoted by MFA and partner organizations*

5
MILLION

animals spared from misery annually thanks to MFA inspiring people to reduce or eliminate meat, egg and dairy consumption

Your Money at Work

Nearly 78 cents of every dollar spent by Mercy For Animals goes directly to programs that save animals. The remainder is used to grow MFA’s size and capacity so we can help even more animals in the future.

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Our Team

Changing Hearts. Changing Minds. Changing the World.

Nathan Runkle

President

Nathan Runkle is the founder and president of Mercy For Animals. Raised on a farm in rural Ohio, Nathan has long had a deep connection with farmed animals. After a local farmed animal abuse case involving a piglet slammed headfirst into a concrete floor during an agricultural project at a nearby high school, Nathan founded MFA to give "food" animals a much-needed advocate in his local community.

Since founding MFA over a decade ago, Nathan has overseen the organization's growth into a leading national force in the prevention of cruelty to farmed animals and promotion of compassionate food choices and policies.

A nationally recognized speaker on animal advocacy, factory farming, and veganism, Nathan has presented at colleges, conferences, and many other forums from coast to coast.

Through his work with MFA, Nathan has been an outspoken advocate for animal rights, featured in hundreds of television, radio, and newspaper interviews, including on ABC's World News Tonight, Nightline, and 20/20, CNN, and National Public Radio, and in USA Today, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune.

Nathan works closely with MFA's diverse group of members, supporters, and employees to develop and fulfill objectives within the organization's four areas of focus: education, legal advocacy, corporate outreach, and undercover investigations.

Nathan has worked alongside elected officials, corporate executives, heads of international organizations, academics, farmers, celebrities, and film producers to pass landmark farmed animal protection legislation, raise public awareness about vegetarianism, and implement animal welfare policy changes.

VegNews magazine has recognized both MFA and Nathan for making substantial contributions to the vegetarian movement, naming Nathan one of the "25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians" and one of the country's "Top 20 Activists Under 30 Years Old," and twice naming MFA "Non-Profit of the Year." In 2009, at the age of twenty-five, Nathan became the youngest person ever inducted into the US Animal Rights Hall of Fame.

Jake Morton

Director of Operations

Jake Morton is our director of operations, managing the organization’s day-to-day operations and collaborating with MFA’s communications department to create fun advocacy materials, including videos and merchandise. A longtime MFA supporter and once volunteer, Jake first became involved in animal protection as a teenager after meeting MFA’s president, Nathan Runkle, during an outreach event in his hometown.

Vandhana Bala

General Counsel

Vandhana Bala serves as our general
counsel, working to put animal abusers behind bars. Vandhana became
interested in animal rights in law school, became a vegetarian, and
spent nearly a decade working at animal shelters and hospitals.
Vandhana is now a committed vegan, and envisions a day when animals
are viewed as more than personal property in the eyes of the law

Matt Rice

Director of Investigations

Matt Rice, our director of investigations, works with MFA’s undercover investigators to expose animal abuse at factory farms and slaughterhouses. Among other successes, these investigations have led to raids of factory farms, rescues of abused farmed animals, and passage of anti-cruelty laws. Most importantly, they have opened the hearts and minds of millions of people to the power of their food choices to create a kinder world.

Nikki Bollaert

Director of Development

Nikki Bollaert is our director of development and the brains behind MFA’s fundraising programs. Passionate about social justice issues, she brings more than 20 years of experience to her position. Nikki is the proud mom of two amazing vegan kids, and her “furry family” includes two dogs, three cats, and a charismatic rabbit named Jerry.

Ari Solomon

Director of Communications

Ari Solomon is our director of communications, managing all things social media. He also serves as the liaison to celebrities involved in MFA’s campaigns. A prolific writer, Ari's work appears regularly on The Huffington Post, and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Advocate. Ari’s videos on veganism, including Sh*t Vegans Say, have become viral sensations, with nearly 2 million combined views.

Nick Cooney

Director of Education

Nick Cooney is our director of education, overseeing MFA’s advocacy efforts. Nick is also the author of several books, including Change of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change. He has lectured on effective advocacy across the U.S. and Europe, and hundreds of media outlets have spotlighted his work.

Jaya Bhumitra

Director of Corporate Outreach

Jaya Bhumitra serves as our director of
corporate outreach, encouraging major food retailers, grocery stores,
and fast-food giants to adopt and strengthen animal welfare policies.
After learning about California’s Proposition 2, a bill aimed at
ending extreme confinement of farmed animals, Jaya immediately went
vegan. Jaya shares her home with her partner, Chris, and three
beautiful rescued animals.

Johnathan Skinner

Software Engineer

Johnathan Skinner is our director of information technology, overseeing the organization’s impressive catalogue of websites. Wellsprings of information on the benefits of veganism and the cruel plight of farmed animals, MFA’s websites are visited by thousands of people every day. Johnathan began his professional career as a video game programmer, landing a job as a game creator for Nintendo just one year out of high school.

Krista Hiddema

Managing Director, Canada

Krista Hiddema is managing director for MFA in Canada, spearheading corporate outreach initiatives and media relations, and leveraging MFA’s influence to strengthen governmental protections for animals in Canada. Krista and her husband, Nigel, share their home with their rescued companion animals, Pitou, Smurfette, Blue, Honey, Spice, Chip, and Dale.

Brooke Mays

Editor in Chief

Brooke Mays, MFA’s editor in chief, reviews all of MFA’s written material, and serves as managing editor for our semi-annual magazine, Compassionate Living. After an MFA investigation revealed startling animal abuse at an egg factory farm that supplied to Trader Joe’s, her letter to Trader Joe’s led the grocery giant to drop the cruel egg producer. Brooke has proven time and again that the pen is mightier than the sword!

Disney Bolin

Executive Assistant

Disney Bolin serves as executive
assistant to our president, Nathan Runkle. Disney owes her can-do
attitude to years of experience at a tech startup. A once MFA volunteer, Disney used her volunteer experience to share with others the horrors of factory farming. Now she cannot imagine devoting her
life to anything but protecting farmed animals.

Clare Bland

Philanthropy Officer

Clare Bland serves as our philanthropy officer, ​bringing 23 years of
development, program management, and nonprofit leadership experience
to her role.​ ​Learning how smart and affectionate farmed animals
were moved Clare to leave them off her plate for good. Clare and her
husband Michael share their lives with two quirky rescued mutts,
Ralph and Rufus.

Susan Weingartner

Development Projects Manager

Susan Weingartner is our development projects manager, organizing major events and other fundraising projects. She is an accomplished photographer, and for years her touching photos of rescued animals have raised much in vital funds for several organizations, including MFA. Susan and her son share their home with their three extremely outgoing cats, Aragorn, Kali, and Michael.

Kristen Diederich

Development Systems Manager

Kristen Diederich is our development systems manager, expanding fundraising programs and managing day-to-day tasks. Kristen interned with MFA for just one week before being hired and is now based in our LA headquarters, working to protect farmed animals full time.

Kate Ziegler

Senior Investigations and Research Associate

Kate Ziegler is our senior investigations and research associate, analyzing evidence documented by MFA’s undercover investigators for potential violations of law. Kate credits her family with shaping her into the socially conscious and compassionate person she is.

Kyle Fujisawa

Investigations and Research Associate

Kyle Fujisawa serves as investigations
and research associate, conducting extensive research into
agribusiness practices and animal welfare standards. In college, Kyle
joined UC Santa Cruz’s animal advocacy club, where he first learned
about MFA. He later became club president, working closely with MFA
to develop more effective outreach techniques and maximize the number
of students reached.

Sarah Von Alt

Communications Specialist

Sarah Von Alt serves as communications
specialist, overseeing the creation of content for MFA's blogs and social
media. Sarah joined the team in her home state of Ohio, where she organized
grassroots outreach and worked with volunteers. Her creativity, willingness
to learn, and drive make her the perfect fit for our ever growing social media
presence. Sarah shares her life with her rescue mutt, Frannie, who loves coming
to the office for a hard day of napping.

Tammy Borchert

Administrative and Merchandising Assistant

Tammy Borchert serves as our
administrative and merchandising assistant, bringing expertise and
years of experience in nonprofit apparel and campaigning. Strongly
impacted by an in-depth study of yoga and two lovely rescued
companion animals that shared her home, Tammy became vegan and has
never looked back.

Mikael Nielsen

National Volunteer Coordinator

Mikael Nielsen is our national volunteer coordinator, mobilizing activists around the country. While Mikael had always been an animal lover, it was a friendly turkey on TV that inspired him to become vegan in 1996. Mikael says that working for Mercy For Animals is a dream come true.

Alan Darer

Education Project Coordinator

Alan Darer is our education project coordinator. He works with activists on college campuses around the country, and leads the charge in the creation, launch, and evaluation of our online ads. Alan was raised a vegetarian, and after the shock of viewing a video about the cruel egg industry, he became vegan and started interning at MFA. The rest is history!

Jamie Berger

Media Campaigns Coordinator

Jamie Berger serves as our media
campaigns coordinator, executing mass media vegan advocacy efforts.
Her professional experience includes both federal lobbying and public
relations, and The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times,
and other major national news outlets have featured her written work.

Blanka Alfaro Pola

Latin American Communications Coordinator

Blanka Alfaro Pola serves as our Latin
American communications coordinator, creating, managing, and
translating social media content and other
communications for our Latin American audience. A resident of
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Blanka worked in graphic design and marketing
before leaving the world of commercial advertising to apply her
skills to helping animals

Cameron McBride

Assistant Web Developer

Cameron McBride serves as our assistant
web developer. Upon discovering the effects of heavy meat consumption
on the human body, Cameron adopted a healthy and humane plant-based
diet. He currently shares his home with his wife, Erin, and three
loving companion animals.